A Garter as a Lesser Gift

by Aster Glenn Gray

A World War II mmf retelling of Gawain and the Green Knight

Gawain Orkney, an impetuous flight lieutenant in the RAF, can’t say no to a bet. That’s how he finds himself spending his precious Christmas leave searching for a mysterious Green Chapel, where he’s supposed to finish the shooting contest that was interrupted when Gawain shot his opponent in the face. (His opponent, an uncanny man clad all in green, was not noticeably discommoded by the injury.)

And when Gawain puts up for the night at a peculiar old tower, well, he can hardly refuse when the bluff, hearty lord of the manor suggests a wager. He’ll give Gawain all he catches on his hunting in the next three days, if Gawain will give him in return anything he is given in the tower.

The wager seems simple enough until Gawain receives his first gift: a kiss from his host’s flirtatious redheaded wife…

Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Novella, Fiction, Queer, Historical

96 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 27, 2022

About the author

Aster Glenn Gray writes fantasies with a romantic twist, or romances with a fantastic twist. (And maybe other things too. She is still a work in progress.) When she is not writing, she spends much of her time haunting libraries, taking long walks, and doing battle with the weeds that seek to topple her tomato plants.

Reviews

[~David~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was beautifully adapted. It marries the feeling of a classic story or fairy tale with a more modern approach to writing.

Gawain was a wonderful character, and I really felt for him. His emotions, both positive and negative, were very vivid.

Lord and Lady Bertilak were interesting. They were warm and a bit fae at the same time.

I liked the added twist of the MMF relationship.

[Francesca Forrest · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delicate, yet strong and vividly written--a beautiful retelling of the Gawain story that captures everything about the mood of the original tale and adds depth and richness to Gawain's stay in the castle near the Green Chapel. Loved it.

[Leigh Kramer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chaste MMF historical romance Gawain retelling set during WWII. It’s magical and stirring and easily could have been expanded into a longer story. I wish it had so the HFN would be more believable. Gawain has only known the Bertilaks for three days and they weren’t really together during that time! They all needed to have some long conversations about the bet and how their marriage works and how Gawain will fit in. I wanted more about the Bertilaks being Fae. Like how does it all work?! Why did the Green Man go to the bar that night? I have so many questions. All that aside, the relationship is very promising. I just wanted more! Aster Glenn Gray always creates such compelling worlds and it’s a delight to experience her stories.

Characters: Gawain is a short bisexual white RAF flight lieutenant. Lord Bertilak is a (bisexual) white hunter. Lady Nelle Bertilak is a tall redhead white woman. The Bertilaks are Fae.

Content notes: gunshot graze, blood, attempted murder/MMC shoots man’s eye out but he’s not otherwise injured, commentary that MMC needs to gain weight, discussion of murderers who die by suicide in mystery novels, war (off page), missing platoon member, alcohol, inebriation, mentions of bombing/air raids/death of soldiers


*Buddy read with Charlotte, Hannah, and Vicky.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining and very niche read. I love Aster Glenn Gray's style, and when I heard "Gawain and the Green Knight with Arthur's Round Table reimagined as WWII RAF pilots" I was IMMEDIATELY on that train (or horse?). AGG modernizes some aspects of the original Gawain, but uses light fantasy and a fantastical attitude to blend and balance the familiar old tale with a 20th century setting. This sticks fairly close to the beats of the source text, so while the queerness of it is made somewhat more explicit and there's something approaching a HFN, I'd say it's a romance novel in the way periwinkle is purple. I had a whole lot of fun with this, but I think people who aren't familiar with the original tale won't get the same enjoyment from it.

Side note: I need the related novel about Art/Gwen/Lancelot because just the tiny glimpses included here were so full of PINING and I NEED it.

Overall rating: 4
Hannah Angst Scale rating: 0.5
Content notes: set in WWII and includes mentions of bombing/air raids/combat casualties, use of firearms, wounding by firearm, descriptions of blood/injuries, on page alcohol use

[X · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great one from this author. Love this version of Gawain, love the mmf of it all, love the mentions of Art and Lancelot and Gwen (honestly this could be a series about all the knights of the round table as WWII fighter pilots, I don’t want to say I would kill to read that bc it’s such an intense expression but like Gawain, in the heat of the moment I might do something I regret lol).

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is so weird and good, it’s been great to see people adapting it in such beautiful, interesting ways, whether this or the recent movie with Dev Patel. I love when people really reckon with these very *specific* historical texts rather than flattening them out - and especially I love that (like me when I read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in school haha,) this author’s interpretation is “what if exactly this, everything the same, but then they all live happily ever after together.”

[Roxana Chirilă]

I don't want to rate this one, because this book has few ratings and... well. Sometimes I'm a bitch. But sometimes I'm soft. It suppose it depends on whether you're trying my patience by trying to sound smart, or if it seems like you're just doing your thing and sharing it with the world so others can have fun.

"A Garter as a Lesser Gift" rubbed me the wrong way *a lot*. It's got so many things I dislike:
- old time-y speech (quoting from memory, but things like "for tall was he")
- referencing characters we know as a wink to the audience, but without giving them a personality of their own (Arthur, Lancelot, Gwen etc.)
- a style that's so thin I can't tell if it's a stylistic choice or negligence to have some characters laugh and laugh and laugh, to the point where it sounds unnatural (it might be a choice? they're fae?)
- I can't tell why the Bertilaks like Gawain so much, and that's kind of a big thing

But other than that... I guess it's cute? If you're in the mood for a "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" retelling that's an m/m/f. I like the premise of recasting King Arthur and his knights as aviators in WWII, but of keeping the same premise as the original, and casting the lord and lady as fae. I liked Gawain and his earnestness and inner conflicts. Alas, I was more disappointed than in love. I feel like this could have been more fleshed out.

[Felicia Davin]

In this wonderful retelling, RAF pilot Gawain remains young and sweet and charming, though impulsive and unable to resist a bet. He shoots the Green Knight rather than beheading him, but the consequences are the same: he has to go to the Green Chapel to receive the same blow.

Along the way, he stops to enjoy Lord and Lady Bertilak's excellent hospitality, but as it’s World War II, their abundant table immediately marks them as other and raises Gawain’s suspicions. Unlike his RAF Round Table bros, he was raised to believe in magic, so he figures out his hosts’ fae nature in good time. He falls for them anyway, and who wouldn’t, they’re written with such warmth. And, in the book’s divergence from the poem, they do some classic romance grand-gesturing to win Gawain back after the whole bet/bargain/test thing goes wrong.

I think A Garter as a Lesser Gift would be an enjoyable read even for someone who hadn’t read “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,” but it's better with the poem in mind. The changed details are so playful—Gawain rides a bicycle instead of a horse—and knowing the poem enriched my experience of the book.

I loved the hints that Arthur, Gwen, and Lancelot are in some kind of polyamorous arrangement as well.

[Starless One · Rating 4 out of 5]

The modern, poly retelling of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight I never knew I needed.

[Shriya Uday · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really wish there was a sort of epilogue, just so we could see more of the three of them together.

Truly an excellent retelling though, keeping a very strong mythical feel throughout. Hopefully this is a sign that this author will continue to write more poly relationships since she's one of the few authors who seem to do it right.

[Shaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A retelling of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as a historical fantasy set during WWII, this is a wonderful adaptation as a romance. At a short novella, it's the perfect length to have enough setting an character depth to be believable and absorbing.

[Paige · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars.

I don’t really buy the romance of it all — are you really in love after playing some trickster games? — but this book is the disaster bi Gawain I didn’t know I desperately needed. He was such a fun character, a delightful mix of bold and courageous and naive.

I am a big fan of Gawain and the Green Knight in most of its iterations, and this is no different.

The framing of it in WW2 was so clever and so well done. I really enjoyed seeing the gang altogether at the beginning and end, and the hints at Arthur/Guinevere/Lancelot.

The ambiguous ending worked much better for me here than in Briarley. They have a plan to meet again, even if not a timeline. They’re keeping in touch. We know where they all are and what their intentions are. That’s a HFN I can live with.

Steam: 0, kisses only

[Sarah Meerkat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I deeply wish this was just slightly longer with a bit more steam to it than just the exchanged kisses.

[aarya · Rating 3 out of 5]

2022 Winter Bingo (#SnowInLoveBingo❄️): Nature

3.5 stars. Minimal romance in a very faithful retelling, but still a fun read.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another retelling (The Green Knight) set in WW2. This one didn’t work as well for me though it did have its moments.

[Georgie-who-is-Sarah-Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

[Bizzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 - Retelling The Green Knight as a WWII historical/fantasy romance is an interesting idea, but I found this too short to deliver on anything truly memorable.

[J.L. Thornton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I definitely struggled with how to rate this book because, while it did have its issues, it was also such a creative and compelling retelling of Gawain and the Green Knight. So first, that good stuff! The WW2 setting was very interesting and absolutely made sense as a place to apply Arthurian legend. Gawain being an airman compared to his original knighthood worked well, and making it a sharp shooting competition made a lot of sense. I also loved that the author leaned into the very homoerotic vibes of the original story and explored those more fully and made that a larger part of the plot. I also liked the descriptions of setting, which felt fully realized, and I was continually engaged in the story as I was reading.

That said, it was hard to know if the author's more flat, almost clinical writing style at times was trying to mimic the cadence of older Arthurian legends or was just... flat. So that was a little difficult for me. On that note, there also were more than a few grammatical errors and typos here, which I at times found distracting. I also just wanted more depth and development from the characters so they really felt like people, which admittedly, yes, might be tricky with the source material. But isn't that sort of the point of a retelling? So I guess I just wanted a bit more in that respect, especially with the expanded and romantic twist to the ending. I wanted to buy into the relationship more, I suppose.

That said, I did still really enjoy this and liked that the author seemed to have a very good grasp of the original and played with the queerness and magical at once. Very unique and interesting all around.

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

He was not good; had never aspired to be good. He had only ever wanted to be a jolly good fellow, and to be too good, like Percy, destroyed all chance of ever being jolly. Percy would have pulled the covers up over his head before he ever let his host’s wife kiss him, let alone kissed his host. [loc. 621]

A refreshing and sweet novella, setting Gawain and the Green Knight in wartime Britain. The squadron drink at the Green Dragon, and one night a man in green appears...

Gawain chats to the Bertilaks about crime novels and the Blitz; kisses his hostess, and then his host; and returns (or is returned) to his squadron with a green armband, because he has 'been raised with a great belief in magic' and is disinclined to refuse a gift that confers protection. And when the Bertilaks come visiting (with a gift of wild boar, which hasn't been hunted in Britain for four centuries) he confronts them with his anger and grief that it was just a game...

A delightful read, which I wish I'd read at Christmas! The updated setting works very well, and Gawain is vulnerable, likeable and better at talking about his feelings than the original. But then, it is a different time.

[Sofia · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, rounded up

This novella retells the story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, setting it during WWI and casting the knights of the round table as RAF pilots. There aren't any huge changes to the plot, save for the fact that this book is a (lowercase r) romance.

This was a fun read. I enjoyed the setting and the relationship between the characters, both the romances and the friendships, but it definitely suffers from novella syndrome. There just isn't enough space in this book for the romantic development to feel earned. It doesn't help that, this being Gawain and the Green Knight, we're dealing with a throuple, so we have to establish Gawain's romance with two different people, which requires even more space.

That being said, this is a short, sweet novella, so I do recommend it as a palate cleanser between longer books.

I read it for the r/fantasy 2024 bingo challenge, for the self-published or indie publisher square. It barely squeaks by on being hard mode, since that requires that the book have less than a hundred ratings on goodreads, and my rating is the 99th.

[Konrad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall I enjoyed this story, but it does have a lot of flaws. In the beginning and at the end, the author scrambles to insert a boatload of references to other popular Arthurian characters and plots. In between, it’s a pretty straightforward retelling of Gawain and the Green Knight, just with World War 2 trappings instead of medieval ones. The whole premise and tone is pretty horny, but the only love-making in this book are a bunch of chaste kisses.

The prose is also a bit weird and not as good as in other books from this author. The HEA ending feels forced, as if it’s only there to allow the book to be shelved as romance.

However, I did still enjoy the story. The environmental descriptions give a great sense of place without going into too much detail, the main character’s journey is interesting and believable, his relationships with Lord and Lady Bertilak are both well written and equally important.

[Littlerhymes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This retelling of the legend of Gawain and the Green Knight places it in World War II England, with the knights of the round table as daring RAF pilots. Gawain must fulfil his oath to the Green Knight and is on his way to the Green Chapel when he is taken in as a guest of the Bertilaks. The Bertilaks tease him, with Lady Bertilak giving him kisses that Gawain then willingly forfeits to Lord Bertilak, but is it just a game to them or something more?

I love the story of the Green Knight and this is such a charming retelling. Though mostly faithful to the beats of the legend, this story creates its own atmosphere and sense of time and place, the magic of the old world intersecting with WWII and its rationing and potential spy intrigue. Most importantly it gives a really satisfying ending for Gawain's romance with the Bertilaks, who I always thought should've ended up together anyway.

[M. L. Valard · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

How could I resist a WWII era retelling of Gawain and the Green Knight? This was entirely lovely. A really brilliant rendition of the story and just the right length. I loved the knights of the round table as and RAF Squadron and would gladly have read more just exploring that premise as well.

But for what this was it was perfect, the language was right, the setting was right, the story just fit. This being my second read by the author I did expect to like it and I wasn't remotely disappointed. I doubly appreciate the little references to the story of the Loathly Lady that were also so very neatly slipped in alongside.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the world created here, and the writing was so ethereal to me - absolutely perfect for a fairytale retelling. If this was expanded a bit I think it could have been five stars, but I was left with so many plot questions afterwards it’s more of a 3.75 - 4 star read. Perhaps if I was more familiar with the fairytale being retold it would fill in some gaps for me. I will be reading more by this author though because I really enjoyed the prose.

Heads up for those who want to know about on-page sex: this is kissing only.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fairly close retelling of Gawain and the Green Knight. The setting is clever, with Gawain an RAF pilot in WWII, and Lord and Lady Bertalik aristocrats in the French countryside. There's some lessons in chivalry and honor and love...but what's missing is the heat and connection of an MMF relationship. I needed at least an epilogue going beyond the courtly love.

But for 96 pages on KU, it's a pretty accessible version of the classic Arthurian tale, and Aster Glenn Gray has a lovely writing style!

[Amy (I'd Rather Be Sleeping) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed it. Maybe not as much as The Threefold Tie, because this one just did not feel as equal relationship wise, but I enjoyed it. I like how strange of a a story it is - made all the stranger for me because I cannot remember the tale of the Green Knight. But, anyway, I liked the lightly paranormal/magical/fae vibe that was going on and how plain weird it was to have an RAF pilot named Lancelot. (Side note: pretty darn sure that Art, Lance and Gwen was a poly triad and I am here for that. Would totally read that book because, after all, it is the best way to solve that love triangle.)

[Carmela Edel · Rating 4 out of 5]

the aster glenn gray novella streak continues. this one is a MMF romance, WWII retelling of Gawain and the Green Knight. again, very enjoyable. wished we dove a little more into the relationships between the three mains but still an engaging story. once again, I wish there was an epilogue a;dlfjs aster glenn gray please i get that these are fairy tale retellings but can i have a denouement

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting retelling even for someone like me that's only vaguely aware of the original story beats. I liked the WWII setting but the romance fell a bit flat for me - 3 days just didn't seem like enough time for such complicated characters/dynamics.

[Steve J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another charming story by Aster Glenn Gray.

All of the author’s books have a quiet, understated charm, including this one. It was a delight to read. I will search out some more of her work.

[Sineala · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very sweet fairy-tale retelling of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, where Gawain is a WW2 RAF pilot, playing up all the kissing games, to the point where everyone ends up poly. I liked it! It's short! Recommended bedtime reading.

[Mariah Wamby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not familiar with much about the original tales of Gawain, but I enjoyed this retelling for the most part. 3.5 stars rounded up, as the short format led to some lack of believability of the romance imo